Nigerian Army Establish CyberCrime Command To Fight Insurgency

The Nigerian Army said it has established a cyber crime command to monitor and deter the activities of online media nuisance guilty of propagating malicious and fallacious reportage in support of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai made the disclosure during an interactive session with media executives and Defence Correspondents on Thursday at the Army Headquarters, Abuja.

General Buratai frowned at the activities of the “5th Columnists” and saboteurs in the service of the Nigerian Army stating that some unscrupulous elements has been identified and they will be court marshalled accordingly.

He said the media session is aimed at enlightening the general public on the various strategies adopted by the military to counter insurgency especially in the North East which has yielded positive results.

The Army Chief highlighted the successes of various operations in the North East, notably the efforts of Operation Lafia Dole in restoring normalcy to the region.

According to him, the success recorded by previous operations especially Operation Lafiya Dole created the enabling environment for the ongoing Operation Last Hold.

“Our security architecture as a country is one with a very positive outlook. We are now consolidating on the gains achieved in the fight against insurgency in the North East as part of the stabilization phase of our operations where all efforts are geared towards ensuring that displaced persons are fully returned to their ancestral homes which are now relatively safe,” he maintained.

He further briefed journalists that Operation Last Hold is geared towards the resettlement of displaced persons back to their ancestral homes.

Gen Buratai called for community stabilization and communal resistance in the fight against the insurgents which he said their major aim is to instill fear in the minds of the populace.

In his words:

“I also want to use this medium to also call on our religious and traditional institutions to play a key part in this campaign.

“The Nigerian Army will thus create security awareness to enlighten and educate communities through their leaders.

“To this end, I encourage religious, traditional and community leaders to propagate the power of communal living, social coherence and resilience as a means of defeating the insurgents in their messages, sermons and every available avenue until we achieve the desired objective,” he said.

The event had in attendance Principal staff officers from the Army Headquarters and various corps, the Director General of National Emergency Agency, representative of the United Nations and the Deputy Governor of Adamawa state among other notable personalities.